Reviews by Ciocanelu:

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Hard to believe there's a more-premium version of this out there. This is right next to Roch10 in my book. Pours murky reddish-brown with lasting, clingy brown foam of the tinniest bubbles. Aroma is sweet, with ripe plum, raisin, caramel. Flavor is the smell translated, almost entirely. Nice and sweet, with some yeasty goodness amongst the candied fruit. Finish is slightly sweet, but very clean overall. Is there alcohol in this? Remarkably hidden at 12%.

Appearance  Clear, brownish-orange carbonating body with a modest head. It settled well on top of the liquid though and showed good retention.

Smell  Big BSDA aroma. The malts, super-ripe fruits, and sugars abound in this hearty brew. I warmed this for an hour before opening and now my whole house smells like Belgian Strong Dark Ale. The wifes not too happy, but Im in heaven.

Taste  Outstanding! This ale is everything about a BSDA that I love. The malts are excellent. The peaches, apricots, plums, dates, figs, and other fruits are full yet not overdone. The alcohol flavor is complimentary instead of invasive.

The bubble gum comes out second along with lip-smacking sugars. This one runs the gamut of brown and raw sugar, powdered, and table (refined). Looking for hops? Not in this heavy hitter.

Mouthfeel  A small alcohol sting and a very smooth, thick, chewy body makes this one a standout. Its full-bodied and feels terrific in between the cheeks.

Drinkability  At 12.0 ABV I wouldnt suggest pouring a six-pack of these into a beer bong or anything like that, but if you enjoy the style you MUST find a way to try this ale.

Update  I revisited this fella on Christmas Day 2004. Its just as I remembered it. The malts tasted a little more yeasty and it seemed a little fuller. This is a great Noël.

A: Medium copper that would have decent clarity if it weren't for all the floaters in there. The head is barely there with a just a collar of off-white bubbles.

S: Fruity with alcohol and a bit of spice. There is a a moderately strong aroma of prunes with a bit of malt sweetness and a moderate Belgian yeast spice that is mostly peppery. A faint earthy hops. Moderately strong perfumey alcohol aromas and just a touch of cocoa.

T: A moderate amount of malt sweetness and moderately strong prune and red cherries flavors again with a fair amount of alcohol. There is a light hops bitterness and no perceived hops flavor. The balance is fairly sweet with a sweet finish and a fruity aftertaste. There is a light cocoa again along a honey flavor that boarders maple syrup like.

M: medium-full bodied with moderately-strong carbonation. There is a decent amount of alcohol warmth but it isn't solventy or unpleasant.

O: A sweet, fruity Belgian Dark with a good deal of alcohol. No a bad beer but not my favorite of the style, while sweetness is perfectly acceptable in the style I prefer the drier versions.

Poured from 11.2 oz bottle. Deep ruby color with minimal white head. Smell was mostly of alcohol and yeasty spice. Sweet flavor with malt upfront and underlying spices. The sweet/alcohol flavors overpowered the more sublte spices/yesat flavors and left me wanting more balance out of this one. Interesting but a little too much for me. Mouth feel was smooth and velvety. Too much alcohol and sweetness to drink more than one.

A 25cl bottle with an attractive label, poured into a snifter. It was a pretty red/brown with a very small head. Aroma was spicy, with a little dark fruit. It had a spicy, peppery taste, but the taste was dominated by the alcohol. This is a beer to be sipped, but even so, I couldn't do more than one bottle at a time.

No dating. Clear, amber, woodsy chestnut. Caught a slight bit of chill haze. Light khaki head, just a nice dusting and thick ring of tight bubbles. Nice thin, but good covering. Aroma of sweet caramel, maltiness and just a bit of flowery hops coming out. Silky, yet you feel the carbonation, which is thick and nice. Good bite in there! Nice! Hard to tell where the bite is coming from, the carbonation, the peppery hops, and a bit from the alcohol warmth.... Im liking it! Fairly astringent, with a nice bit of warmth from the alcohol. The flavors are not too intense at all for me. This is just so damn nice. Highly enjoyable as a sipper or with a good cheese plate.

Creamy and deceiving, slightly sweet and peppery alcohol slowly warms the body. Big caramel and dark fruit flavours with hints of phenols that are almost bubble gum in taste. I'll have to go back to this one several times this winter being that one little bottle was not enough.

Pours clear orange with a small white head. The aroma is caramel malt and dark fruit. Possibly a little bit of rum. The flavor is tons of caramel, dark fruit (cherries) with a lot of alcohol at the end. Relatively sweet beer. Medium mouthfeel and carbonation. The alcohol is present making it a sipper, but it is still relatively easy to drink.

Taste: Super creamy and full bodied sweet maltiness blends with some fruity characters , slight fig and cherry , hint of pear, vanilla , slight cinnnamon, balancing hoppiness is restrained, definatly has some boozy / sipper quality with the alcohol but for it's strength it is incredibly masked.

Mouthfeel: slick and creamy.

Drinkability: Well im definatly not going to have a sixer of them , but i could! Very very drinkable , not just for its well masked abv , but the nice , complex balance of tasty winter warmer flavors. Exellent Xmas brewing!

Pours murkys red-brown with a solid tan head. Cherries, plums, molasses, caramel, malt, and lots of spice in the nose. Mroe fruit and yeast in the taste, but with a spicy cracked pepper and a blend of nutmeg-cinnamon-clove potpouri. Sweeter and heavier, a true BSA.

As a fan of the style I had to try this iconic beer. It is certainly a complex ale, but for me it was not an enjoyable experience. Sweet and sour upfront with strong alcohol blast in the middle. Reminded me of an Oud Bruin I had. I did finish the 25.4 ounce bottle over 4 days, but it went downhill each day. There is caramel and fruit but the strong alcohol and sour funk overcame my palate.